Author Topic: Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon 1972-2013 by Dennis Jenkins  (Read 40035 times)

Offline HighlandRay

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Still waiting for a release date from Amazon UK, I do hope that they can fill their orders. I am so looking forward to this book.
To old to die young

Offline Rocket Science

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Just got mine from a March 10th order, pretty quick! 8) When I picked-up the box from the ground I was surprised by the weight. I opened the box half expecting to find a a shuttle component inside by it's heft... ;D
« Last Edit: 03/28/2017 09:07 pm by Rocket Science »
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
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Offline Arch Admiral

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So, I finally read through this book to the end. (yes, I'm a speed-reader and no, I don't have a 9-to-5 job). I have the two earlier editions and some of the less relevant material in them has been omitted to fit within the 3-volume limit.

But there is a vast amount of additional material, not just about the later missions but much about the historical background. Did you know that:

- the X-20/Dyna-Soar pilot would have been issued an AR-15 rifle for disabling Soviet satellites
- many eminent experts such as Bob Truax and Wernher von Braun were secret shuttle skeptics
- Klaus Heiss of the infamous "Mathematica Study" was so confident in the results that he formed a company to build an extra Orbiter with private capital and lease it to NASA
- the management at Rocketdyne became convinced that the staged-combustion cycle of the SSME was unworkable and tried to get Marshall to switch to a gas-generator design with lower pressures (similar to those in the final Block II SSME)

(Historical nitpick: Jenkins repeats the standard fiction spread by the promoters of the doomed X-38 project that PRIME/X-23A and X-24A had the same configuration and proved its stability at all Mach numbers -- the photos in the book show that the two vehicles were very different.)

For a guy who worked on the program most of his professional life, Jenkins is surprisingly objective about the Shuttle's design weaknesses and the engineering and management failures that led to the two losses and several groundings. He uses some very harsh words about the promised flight rates and reveals internal studies that showed these to be nonsense. Since this isn't a political history he doesn't explore why NASA HQ continued to promise 24 flights per year up to 1986.

Of course the roles of USAF, NRO, and NSA in Shuttle are still concealed by secrecy but there is a good sense of why the space intelligence community first embraced and then rejected shuttle.

Much of volume 3 is devoted to summaries of each mission. Even the most obscure flights of Shuttle's boring middle years get at least 2 pages. The major accidents and groundings have comprehensive coverage. All the proposed upgrades are discussed along with the confusing succession of Shuttle-C and Shuttle-Z proposals. There is a whole chapter devoted to the Vandenburg SLC-6 fiasco. Upper stages and the lack of same get a good treatment, except there is still no technical reason given for the cancellation of Centaur-G and Centaur-G'.

Finally there is a comprehensive discussion of the dismemberment of the surviving Orbiters for the Constellation program, and the installation of fake components for museum display (something future generations will surely regret).

A section on costs shows that each Shuttle mission cost exactly $1.642B in FY2012 dollars, not counting NASA Center support and civil service salaries. Allowing 25-30% extra for these costs brings the per-mission cost up over $2B.


Offline gosnold

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He uses some very harsh words about the promised flight rates and reveals internal studies that showed these to be nonsense. Since this isn't a political history he doesn't explore why NASA HQ continued to promise 24 flights per year up to 1986.

Of course the roles of USAF, NRO, and NSA in Shuttle are still concealed by secrecy but there is a good sense of why the space intelligence community first embraced and then rejected shuttle.

When did those studies start, and when were they completed?

Offline Blackstar

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Of course the roles of USAF, NRO, and NSA in Shuttle are still concealed by secrecy but there is a good sense of why the space intelligence community first embraced and then rejected shuttle.

NSA was not really involved in shuttle--it was USAF and NRO.

I now have a significant set of documents on NRO and the shuttle. Not on operational missions (all still classified), but policy planning in the 1970s. For instance, in 1973 NRO was assuming the per-launch cost for shuttle was $10.5 million (that number came from NASA). This is all newly declassified stuff, in the past few weeks. So more of that story will be told in the coming months and years.
« Last Edit: 03/29/2017 09:43 pm by Blackstar »

Offline Archibald

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An AR-15 gun ? really ? (trying to figure an EVA astronaut with an AR-15 aiming at a soviet satellite)

Klaus Heiss created Spacetran in the late 70's to privately fund that fifth orbiter cancelled by the Carter administration.  It didn't went well.

Han shot first and Gwynne Shotwell !

Offline Rocket Science

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So, I finally read through this book to the end. (yes, I'm a speed-reader and no, I don't have a 9-to-5 job). I have the two earlier editions and some of the less relevant material in them has been omitted to fit within the 3-volume limit.

But there is a vast amount of additional material, not just about the later missions but much about the historical background. Did you know that:

- the X-20/Dyna-Soar pilot would have been issued an AR-15 rifle for disabling Soviet satellites
- many eminent experts such as Bob Truax and Wernher von Braun were secret shuttle skeptics
- Klaus Heiss of the infamous "Mathematica Study" was so confident in the results that he formed a company to build an extra Orbiter with private capital and lease it to NASA
- the management at Rocketdyne became convinced that the staged-combustion cycle of the SSME was unworkable and tried to get Marshall to switch to a gas-generator design with lower pressures (similar to those in the final Block II SSME)

(Historical nitpick: Jenkins repeats the standard fiction spread by the promoters of the doomed X-38 project that PRIME/X-23A and X-24A had the same configuration and proved its stability at all Mach numbers -- the photos in the book show that the two vehicles were very different.)

For a guy who worked on the program most of his professional life, Jenkins is surprisingly objective about the Shuttle's design weaknesses and the engineering and management failures that led to the two losses and several groundings. He uses some very harsh words about the promised flight rates and reveals internal studies that showed these to be nonsense. Since this isn't a political history he doesn't explore why NASA HQ continued to promise 24 flights per year up to 1986.

Of course the roles of USAF, NRO, and NSA in Shuttle are still concealed by secrecy but there is a good sense of why the space intelligence community first embraced and then rejected shuttle.

Much of volume 3 is devoted to summaries of each mission. Even the most obscure flights of Shuttle's boring middle years get at least 2 pages. The major accidents and groundings have comprehensive coverage. All the proposed upgrades are discussed along with the confusing succession of Shuttle-C and Shuttle-Z proposals. There is a whole chapter devoted to the Vandenburg SLC-6 fiasco. Upper stages and the lack of same get a good treatment, except there is still no technical reason given for the cancellation of Centaur-G and Centaur-G'.

Finally there is a comprehensive discussion of the dismemberment of the surviving Orbiters for the Constellation program, and the installation of fake components for museum display (something future generations will surely regret).

A section on costs shows that each Shuttle mission cost exactly $1.642B in FY2012 dollars, not counting NASA Center support and civil service salaries. Allowing 25-30% extra for these costs brings the per-mission cost up over $2B.
The X-23/PRIME were indeed similar to the X-38, which was the high Mach entry configuration. The X-24A was the low Mach subsonic to landing configuration with the modification to the upper body flap area and the addition of a vertical stabilizer. The X-23/PRIME/X-38 would have all had control surface blanking at high apha and thus all used parachute recovery for that reason and the X-38 went further by using a steerable parafoil...
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline Rocket Science

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An AR-15 gun ? really ? (trying to figure an EVA astronaut with an AR-15 aiming at a soviet satellite)

Klaus Heiss created Spacetran in the late 70's to privately fund that fifth orbiter cancelled by the Carter administration.  It didn't went well.
The X-20 pilot was to open the overhead hatch, stand up and fire IIRC. This is a great book if you are interested
https://www.amazon.com/Dyna-Soar-Hypersonic-Strategic-Weapons-System/dp/1896522955
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline Archibald

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The dynaSoar book is very high on my wish list :)
Han shot first and Gwynne Shotwell !

Offline Star One

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My copy has now been dispatched by Amazon UK.

Offline HighlandRay

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Still waiting
To old to die young

Offline hopalong

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My copy has now been dispatched by Amazon UK.

Likewise, arriving tomorrow (ordered on 26/02/17)

Offline Star One

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My copy has now been dispatched by Amazon UK.

Likewise, arriving tomorrow (ordered on 26/02/17)

Received it yesterday complete with sticker on the outside warning of a heavy package.

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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My copy has now been dispatched by Amazon UK.

Likewise, arriving tomorrow (ordered on 26/02/17)

I just called Amazon as I ordered mine on 11/02/17 and I've still heard nothing  >:(

They can't explain why other orders have been fulfilled, but are looking into it and will get back to me ... hopefully that'll have the desired effect!

Offline Star One

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My copy has now been dispatched by Amazon UK.

Likewise, arriving tomorrow (ordered on 26/02/17)

I just called Amazon as I ordered mine on 11/02/17 and I've still heard nothing  >:(

They can't explain why other orders have been fulfilled, but are looking into it and will get back to me ... hopefully that'll have the desired effect!

That's weird did they indicate it was just yours or were there other similar unfulfilled orders?

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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That's weird did they indicate it was just yours or were there other similar unfulfilled orders?

They didn't say. However, I had previously changed the shipping option on my order, so I suspect that confused something in the system.

Anyway, I've now had an email saying my order has been dispatched!  :D

So if anyone thinks their order is overdue, I suggest chasing it.

Offline Star One

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That's weird did they indicate it was just yours or were there other similar unfulfilled orders?

They didn't say. However, I had previously changed the shipping option on my order, so I suspect that confused something in the system.

Anyway, I've now had an email saying my order has been dispatched!  :D

So if anyone thinks their order is overdue, I suggest chasing it.

That's good to hear.

Offline HighlandRay

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At last my copy is on its way from Amazon UK. Can't wait to get stuck into this treasure trove.
To old to die young

Offline HighlandRay

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Got it, wow. Looking forward to cracking it open.
To old to die young

Offline DaveS

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So I'm getting my copy in a week-a-half (ordered it back in March), I thought I would inquire about the amount of detail spent on the Shuttle/Centaur project, compared to earlier editions.
"For Sardines, space is no problem!"
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"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
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